Overpower

# CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor built on the Arrow Lake Refresh architecture at TSMC's 3 nm node. It runs at a base clock of 3.70 GHz and boosts to 5.50 GHz, with a 125 W TDP. This is a high-end desktop part, evident from its 96th percentile ranking among all CPUs in the database. Its synthetic benchmark performance is substantial: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44,253 and a single-core score of 2,439, alongside a PassMark multi-thread score of 68,574 and a single-thread score of 5,068.

In the context of Overpower, the CPU's high single-thread performance is relevant for maintaining frame pacing, but the measured FPS data shows that the CPU is not the bottleneck at most settings. The processor's nearest rivals in overall CPU benchmark scores are the Intel Xeon 6520P (deltaPct 0, essentially tied) and the AMD EPYC 4564P (deltaPct -1.5). Notably, these rivals are all server-class EPYC or Xeon parts, indicating the Ultra 7 270K Plus sits at the top of desktop compute performance. The fact that the CPU outperforms or matches these enterprise chips in synthetic tests suggests it has ample headroom for game logic, physics, and draw-call processing in Overpower.

The 24 threads provide more than enough parallelism for the game's workload. The L3 cache is 36 MB shared, while L2 is 3 MB per core and L1 is 192 KB per core. Memory support is DDR5 on a dual-channel bus with 115.2 GB/s bandwidth. This memory bandwidth is lower than what the GPU has access to, but that's expected; the CPU's role is feeding the render thread and handling game state. In the measured FPS data, the gap between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p (226 vs 109 FPS) and at 4K (171 vs 82 FPS) indicates that the CPU can push well over 200 FPS at lower settings, which is far beyond what most displays can show. The CPU's boost clock of 5.50 GHz is high enough that even at 1080p Low, the average FPS of 226 is not showing any sign of a CPU-side ceiling being hit in the measured data.

# GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is a Blackwell 2.0 architecture GPU on TSMC's 5 nm process, with a die size of 263 mm² and 31,100 million transistors. It has 6,144 shading units, 192 texture mapping units, and 80 ROPs, along with 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores. The GPU's base clock is 2325 MHz with a boost of 2512 MHz. Memory consists of 12 GB of GDDR7 on a 192-bit bus, providing 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The pixel rate is 201.0 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 482.3 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance at 30.87 TFLOPS.

The RTX 5070's 12 GB VRAM is a key consideration for Overpower at 4K Ultra. The measured data shows that at 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 82, while at 4K High it is 99, and at 4K Medium it is 107. The step from Medium to Ultra at 4K costs 25 FPS (from 107 to 82), which is a 23% drop. This suggests that the Ultra preset is pushing both VRAM capacity and the GPU's compute limits. The 12 GB VRAM is sufficient for the measured presets, but the steep performance drop at Ultra indicates the GPU is the limiting component at 4K, not the CPU. The GPU's percentile rank among all GPUs is 82, and its average benchmark score is 40,377. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon Pro 580 (deltaPct 0.1), AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100 (deltaPct 0.8), and AMD Radeon Pro 5300 (deltaPct -1.2). These rival comparisons are based on synthetic benchmarks, but the measured in-game FPS is the more relevant metric.

The GPU's 672.0 GB/s memory bandwidth is more than the CPU's 115.2 GB/s, which is typical. The high bandwidth is critical for 4K rendering where texture fetch and frame buffer bandwidth are dominant. The boost clock of 2512 MHz, combined with the 30.87 TFLOPS FP32, provides the raw compute needed for the 4K High preset delivering 99 FPS average. At 1080p Low, the GPU is underutilized relative to the CPU, as evidenced by the 226 FPS average, but it still handles the load without issue.

# How This Combo Ranks

The Overpower benchmark data places this combination at rank 538 out of 2,980 tested combos. This means it sits in the top 18% of all CPU-GPU pairings tested for this game. The rank is based on the measured FPS across all resolutions and settings. Being in the top quintile is expected given the high-end nature of both components. The CPU's 96th percentile and GPU's 82nd percentile individually suggest that the CPU is relatively stronger than the GPU, and the combo rank reflects the GPU being the limiting factor in more demanding configurations.

Compared to the CPU's nearest rivals (Intel Xeon 6520P, AMD EPYC 4564P, AMD EPYC 9175F, AMD EPYC 4565P), none of those are typical gaming CPUs, and their pairing with the RTX 5070 would likely produce different results. The rank of 538 out of 2,980 indicates there are 537 combos that achieve higher average FPS in Overpower, which would include pairings with higher-tier GPUs like the RTX 5090 or RX 7900 XTX, even if those CPUs are weaker. Conversely, the 2,442 combos ranked below this one include those with weaker GPUs, regardless of CPU strength. The data shows that the GPU is the more significant contributor to the final rank, as the CPU's performance is sufficient to not bottleneck in most scenarios.

The fact that the combo ranks at 538, rather than higher, is primarily due to the RTX 5070's position in the GPU hierarchy. The GPU's 82nd percentile rank means it is outclassed by the top 18% of GPUs, which would be the ones paired with CPUs in the top ranks. The CPU's 96th percentile rank is not the limiting factor here. For Overpower specifically, the combination delivers playable frame rates at all tested settings, with the lowest average being 82 FPS at 4K Ultra.

# Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of performance across three resolutions and four settings levels.

1080p (1920x1080):

• Low: 226 FPS average
• Medium: 141 FPS average (min 120, max 162)
• High: 131 FPS average
• Ultra: 109 FPS average

1440p (2560x1440):

• Low: 201 FPS average
• Medium: 126 FPS average (min 107, max 145)
• High: 117 FPS average
• Ultra: 97 FPS average

4K (3840x2160):

• Low: 171 FPS average
• Medium: 107 FPS average (min 91, max 123)
• High: 99 FPS average
• Ultra: 82 FPS average

At 1080p, the jump from Low to Medium is significant (226 to 141 FPS, a 38% drop), while Medium to High is smaller (141 to 131, a 7% drop), and High to Ultra is a 17% drop (131 to 109). At 1440p, the pattern is similar but with lower absolute numbers: Low to Medium drops 37% (201 to 126), Medium to High drops 7% (126 to 117), and High to Ultra drops 17% (117 to 97). At 4K, the trend continues: Low to Medium drops 37% (171 to 107), Medium to High drops 7% (107 to 99), and High to Ultra drops 17% (99 to 82).

The Medium and High settings have min/max data available, which shows the frame time variance. At 1080p Medium, the min is 120 and max is 162, giving a range of 42 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the range is 38 FPS (107 to 145). At 4K Medium, the range is 32 FPS (91 to 123). The range narrows as resolution increases, indicating that the GPU becomes more consistently loaded at higher resolutions, reducing frame time spikes.

# Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals the limiting component. At Low settings, going from 1080p (226 FPS) to 1440p (201 FPS) is an 11% drop, and from 1440p to 4K (171 FPS) is a 15% drop. The total drop from 1080p to 4K at Low is 24% (226 to 171). At High settings, the drop from 1080p (131 FPS) to 1440p (117 FPS) is 11%, and from 1440p to 4K (99 FPS) is 15%. The total drop at High from 1080p to 4K is 24% (131 to 99). At Medium settings, the pattern holds: 1080p (141) to 1440p (126) is 11%, 1440p to 4K (107) is 15%, and the total is 24% (141 to 107). At Ultra settings, the drops are identical in percentage terms: 1080p (109) to 1440p (97) is 11%, 1440p to 4K (82) is 15%, and the total is 24% (109 to 82).

This consistent 11% drop from 1080p to 1440p and 15% drop from 1440p to 4K, regardless of settings, indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor. If the CPU were limiting, the FPS would not scale down as much at higher resolutions because the CPU load would be similar. The fact that the percentage drop is identical across all settings levels suggests that the GPU's compute and memory bandwidth are being saturated proportionally to the pixel count. The 4K resolution has 4 times the pixels of 1080p, but the FPS does not drop by 75%; it drops by about 24% at each setting level. This implies that the game is not purely pixel-bound at these settings, and the GPU has enough headroom in some aspects (like geometry or shading) that the scaling is sub-linear. However, the consistent 24% total drop across all settings is a strong indicator that the GPU is the bottleneck, as the CPU's performance is not changing with resolution.

# Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target refresh rate. For 1080p displays with a 144 Hz refresh rate, the High preset (131 FPS) is the best choice because it exceeds the refresh rate while providing better visual quality than Medium (141 FPS, but the difference in quality is typically worth the 10 FPS drop). The Ultra preset at 1080p (109 FPS) falls below 144 Hz, so it is only recommended for 120 Hz displays, but High is the better balance.

For 1440p displays with a 120 Hz refresh rate, the High preset (117 FPS) is borderline, falling just short of 120 FPS. The Medium preset (126 FPS) exceeds 120 FPS, making it the recommended choice for a locked 120 Hz experience. The Ultra preset at 1440p (97 FPS) is acceptable for 100 Hz displays but not for 120 Hz.

For 4K displays, the situation is different. The Ultra preset (82 FPS) is only suitable for 60 Hz displays, but the High preset (99 FPS) provides a smoother experience. The Medium preset at 4K (107 FPS) is the best option for 100 Hz displays, as it offers a 30% improvement over Ultra (107 vs 82) while still delivering high visual fidelity. The Low preset at 4K (171 FPS) is unnecessary for most 4K displays, as it sacrifices too much visual quality for frame rates that exceed typical 4K display refresh rates.

The data shows that the Medium preset offers the most balanced experience across all resolutions, with average FPS of 141 (1080p), 126 (1440p), and 107 (4K). The min FPS at Medium is 120 at 1080p, 107 at 1440p, and 91 at 4K, which means the worst-case frame rates are still playable. For the best experience per the measured rows, Medium at all resolutions provides a stable frame rate that is either at or above 100 FPS, making it the recommended preset for most users. High is a close second, with the benefit of better visuals at the cost of 10-8% fewer FPS compared to Medium.

# FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS for this combo at 1080p Ultra?

A: The average FPS at 1080p Ultra is 109 FPS. This is 24% lower than the 1080p High preset (131 FPS) and 32% lower than 1080p Medium (141 FPS).

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in Overpower?

A: The benchmark data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is consistently 24% across all settings (e.g., Low drops from 226 to 171 FPS, High drops from 131 to 99 FPS). This consistent scaling suggests the CPU is not bottlenecking, as the CPU load does not change with resolution.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested combinations?

A: This combo ranks 538 out of 2,980 tested combinations in Overpower. This places it in the top 18% of all tested combos, which is consistent with its high-end CPU (96th percentile) and upper-midrange GPU (82nd percentile).

Q: What is the best settings preset for a 1440p 120 Hz display?

A: The Medium preset at 1440p delivers 126 FPS average (min 107, max 145), which exceeds 120 Hz. The High preset (117 FPS) falls just short of 120 FPS, so Medium is the recommended choice for a locked 120 Hz experience.

Q: Does the 12 GB VRAM cause any issues at 4K Ultra?

A: The measured data shows 4K Ultra achieves 82 FPS average, which is playable. There is no indication of VRAM-related stuttering in the min/max data, as the Medium preset at 4K has a min of 91 FPS. The 12 GB VRAM is sufficient for the tested presets, but the Ultra preset shows a 23% FPS drop compared to Medium (82 vs 107 FPS), indicating the GPU's compute limits, not necessarily VRAM capacity.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus has an average benchmark score of 93,785. Its nearest rival, the Intel Xeon 6520P, has a score of 93,786 (deltaPct 0). The AMD EPYC 4564P scores 95,183 (deltaPct -1.5), and the AMD EPYC 9175F scores 95,615 (deltaPct -1.9). These are all server processors, and the Ultra 7 270K Plus is competitive with them in synthetic benchmarks.